Why Emma Jacobs From Chicago Fire Looks So Familiar
In the near-decade it's been on the air, NBC's "Chicago Fire" has gone through a lot of production changes, including more than a few cast re-jiggerings — some permanent, some temporary, others somewhere in between. The most recent of those ensemble shifts was introduced on episode 15 of the ongoing 10th season, as Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) abruptly departed to Oregon to pay a visit to Lt. Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer), who had previously left the show earlier on in the season, on "Two Hundred."
Although Killmer's — and Brett's — hiatus will be just temporary, the fact remains that her shoes as resident EMT of the "Chicago Fire" ensemble had to be filled in the meantime. And they were filled, on "Keep You Safe," by Emma Jacobs, a young, no-nonsense paramedic who immediately struck up a captivating dynamic with Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith). You might have found the actress who plays Emma more than a little familiar; if so, here are a few of the places where you may have seen her before.
Caitlin Carver started her career as a dancer
Born in Monrovia, Alabama, in 1992 (via ABQ Journal), Caitlin Carver began her entertainment career as a professional dancer. In those years, she got the opportunity to work with a number of pop and R&B superstars, including Beyoncé, Pitbull, and NeYo (via AL.com). Her dancing background played a key part in helping her break into screen acting: In 2012, she landed an uncredited part on "Nashville" as a dancer for Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), and, the following year, she appeared among the "dancing teeth" on the "Fluoride" episode of "Parks and Recreation."
When she landed her first big role, it was also dancing-related. Between 2013 and 2014, she had a recurring part as Mason, one of the girls in the Los Angeles Devil Girls ensemble, on the VH1 cheerleader drama "Hit the Floor." A moderate success for VH1, the soapy show lasted for four seasons and notably served as the breakout project of Taylour Paige, who would later win awards (via IMDb) for her performance in the film "Zola." Carver made appearances on a total of 11 episodes across Seasons 1 and 2.
She was Jesus' girlfriend Hayley on The Fosters
Created by Peter Paige and Bradley Bredeweg, the family drama series "The Fosters" became one of the most beloved shows in its genre in many years, thanks to a combination of emotional openness, attentive character work, and nonchalant yet momentous LGBTQ+ representation. Centered on the Adams-Foster family, headed by lesbian couple Stef Foster (Teri Polo) and Lena Adams (Sherri Saum), the series ran for a total of five seasons on Freeform (previously known as ABC Family) and featured a lot of recurring and guest stars in that time.
One of those recurring stars was Caitlin Carver, in what became her most visible role up to then. Between Seasons 2 and 3, she played Hayley Heinz, a — you guessed it — school dance team member who embarked on a relationship with Jesus Adams Foster (Jake T. Austin in Season 2; Noah Centineo in Season 3). The role felt particularly special for Carver, as she'd been a huge fan of the show's 1st season before getting cast, per ABQ Journal.
She played Margo's nemesis Becca in Paper Towns
While she was working on "The Fosters," Caitlin Carver was able to raise her profile high enough to nab a big role in a major motion picture. Alongside such fellow young up-and-comers as Justice Smith, Austin Abrams, Jaz Sinclair, and Halston Sage, she was part of the supporting cast of the hit teen drama flick "Paper Towns," based on the eponymous John Green novel and starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne as Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and Margo Roth Spiegelman.
In the film, Carver plays Rebecca "Becca" Arrington, a girl who used to be a friend of Margo until the latter learned that her boyfriend Jason Worthington (Griffin Freeman) was cheating on her with Becca. As a result, Becca goes from friend to nemesis of Margo. Needless to say, she unwittingly ends up playing a pivotal part in the film's plot, as Margo's recruitment of Quentin to help get revenge on her is what jumpstarts their would-be romance plot.
She appeared as Nancy Kerrigan in I, Tonya
There are a lot of reasons why "I, Tonya" struck a nerve with audiences and became an unexpected hit in the biopic genre. The first among them may be the fact that it goes against years of journalistic sensationalism and, for once, honors the perspective of Tonya Harding herself in the tabloid maelstrom that her own life became. Throughout the film, we get to understand Harding's (Margot Robbie) reasons for her many controversial public episodes and come to understand that she was never given a fair shake by the media or the figure-skating establishment. Still, at the center of the film, remains another unfortunate real-life figure upon whose fate the whole story pivots: Harding's lifelong rival Nancy Kerrigan.
A large portion of "I, Tonya" is concerned with the violent attack on Kerrigan in the lead-up to the 1994 Winter Olympics, and the way that it was ultimately and controversially pinned on Harding due to her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, having ordered it. Since the film tells Harding's story, Kerrigan actually doesn't appear that much in it aside from a few choice scenes — a deliberate decision on the filmmakers' part, per Entertainment Weekly. But, in the scenes Kerrigan does have, she is played by Caitlin Carver.
She played a key part on Dear White People Season 3
Created and spearheaded by Justin Simien, Netflix's "Dear White People" is a show that has time and again proven unafraid to explore nuanced questions of identity, power, and optics in a context marked by racial and gender-based tension. This was aptly demonstrated by one of its most prominent Season 3 storylines, in which a white student, Muffy Tuttle, played by Caitlin Carver, accuses a beloved Black professor, Moses Brown (Blair Underwood), of sexual assault — an event that sets off a moral and political storm across the Winchester University campus.
A member of the show's recurring cast since Season 1, Muffy was, up until her Season 3 arc, mostly remembered as the well-meaning, yet occasionally clueless white feminist frenemy of Colandrea "Coco" Conners (Antoinette Robertson), with her most prominent appearance having been the time she disastrously appeared as a guest in Joelle Brooks' (Ashley Blaine Featherson) radio show. The sexual assault storyline shone a spotlight on Muffy and further explored her particular standing within Winchester's racial dynamic; it is arguably Carver's most visible and most complex acting role so far.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).